Warning: Character death, blood and violence in this chapter. Read at your own risk.
One Last Fairytale: Sleepsong
Kiku knew that something was not right the moment he woke up from his slumber. Nervously, he glanced around his room but saw nothing, which made him pondered if there was something nagging him.
Without wasting much time on his thoughts, he quickly got out of bed and changed out his clothes. There is a list of work to be done today.
As he made his way downstairs, he couldn't help but feel something chilling tingled on his skin. He scanned his eyes warily around the empty castle walls. For some feeling, he felt as if the walls were shaking. On cue, he heard a loud bang coming from other side of the castle. He turned around, trying to search for the source of the sound and sprinted towards that direction.
He ran down the hallway, ignoring the destruction taking place in the castle. Kiku then found himself standing before the room of the young princes and opened it, only to find Alfred lying dead on the bed, murdered. He just watched at the corpse helplessly and gulped down an uneven breath, seeing death at such age was too much traumatizing.
Without any choices, he left the room and ran off in search for an escape route. He found himself catching up with his brother, who was helping Matthew and Natalia to safety. Yao was about to climb up to safety when something clung onto him and he was pulled down to the eternal darkness. Kiku screamed and dived for his brother, only to find his hands stained with blood...
Dark brown eyes opened wide, Kiku jolted from his slumber and sat upright on bed, cold sweat clinging onto his nightshirt while he was trying to regain his breath. Yao saw his younger brother terrified expression went to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Having a nightmare again, aru?" Yao asked in concern. Kiku just nodded while wiping the tears off his cheeks. "Is it about the Old Northern Kingdom again?" Kiku shook his head as a reply, before answering, "It's a bit... different with that... but again something similar..."
Yao sighed and ran a hand on the boy's hair. He knew it was hard for a boy to take such horror scene. "Just... Forget about it, aru." He wasn't going to ask Kiku about the details, since it was too much for a child at such young age to handle such dreams. But then, he was still worried. "Hurry up, we got work to do." He reminded Kiku before walking out of the room, leaving a dazed Kiku in his wake.
For some reason, Natalia refused to leave her room since this morning. Arthur woke her up from her slumber, as usual, that's the only time where he ever entered her room. He offered to carry her to the twins' room, but she refused to leave her bed, which worried Arthur. But he decided not to ask since she had the habit of keeping everything to herself alone. Later, he has not seen her leaving her room, not even during breakfast time. Kiku carried her breakfast tray to her doorstep but no progress was made to enter the room. Her sudden change in behavior worried Arthur, since when has this girl began to behave like Ivan?
It was just a week after the twin's birthday and things seemed to have gotten back to the normal routine. Antonio had brought the two princesses of Southeast Kingdom back, saying he had some stuff to handle in the kingdom. The only one left were Roderich, Elizaveta, Vash and Liech, who agreed to stay a little longer for political reasons. Gilbert would then hang around with Ivan, in hope they could spend some more time together for the time being. But then, Ivan would just left him in favour of Yao, leaving the albino prince in accompany of his younger brother, who appeared to be disappointed when the princess of Southeast Kingdom had left leaving him alone again.
Gilbert knew that something was going wrong today, from how he was feeling. As he dressed himself in front of the mirror, he could see his pale complexion and his gagging appearance. He tried to take a deep breath in hope to soothe his nerves, but his heart ached and clenched even tighter and he found it difficult to breath.
"Are you ready?" Ludwig asked impatiently from the door, seeming eager to have breakfast. "Ja, I'm coming, West." Gilbert faked a smile at his brother before walking out of the room. He took the younger sibling's hand in his and they began to walk down towards the dining hall.
As expected, Yao was at the kitchen preparing breakfast as usual with Kiku by his side learning how to cook. But what caught Gilbert's eyes was, Ivan was in the kitchen too, talking with Yao. Yao was busy making scramble eggs when he noticed the two princes. "Good morning, you two, aru. Have you slept well last night?"
Gilbert flashed another grin as he helped his brother onto a chair. "I have lots and lots of awesome dreams like usual, kesese..." He laughed nervously before asking Ludwig what he wanted for breakfast. After confirming their orders, he turned to Yao, "West and I want wurst and mash potatoes for breakfast today."
"Alright, just a moment, aru." Yao replied as he placed a bacon on Ivan's platter while Kiku was making the toast. Once he made sure everything was in order, he placed the tray on the table before Ivan. Ivan shone a creepy smile at him and Yao replied him back with a brief nod before turning back on his chores.
Once Yao served Gilbert and Ludwig their own platter, he and Kiku left the kitchen, having some work to be done. Ludwig ate his breakfast quietly since he was not interested being around with strangers. Ivan seemed to be taking his time as well, cutting his breakfast into tiny little portions before taking a bite, his eyes would then gaze afar as if he was dreaming something. Gilbert too, found himself not having any appetite to eat his food no matter how delicious it was. One reason was because of how he was feeling right now and it made him feel queasy and uneasy, the other reason was probably his concern over Ivan who has been acting strangely of late. He tried to start up some conversation with Ivan but it would ended up with Ivan ignoring him or the sentences just ended in less than ten words. Though purple eyes would met with those crimson eyes, the owner of the eyes did not seemed to acknowledge it as he quickly turned away as if nothing has ever happened.
Ludwig who seemed to sense the tense atmosphere in the kitchen quickly leave after finishing his breakfast, with an excuse that he has some private lessons to catch up. Gilbert watched his brother left the kitchen with a grateful nod. He then turned back to see Ivan fiddling with his bacon and felt as if he couldn't take it anymore.
"Just what has happened to you, Ivan?" Gilbert asked aloud, demanding answers from the younger boy. "What has been in your mind lately? You seem to isolate yourself from the people and cause trouble everywhere. What has happened to you?"
Ivan snorted and feigned ignorance at Gilbert's statement. "And you're being as annoying as ever." He said as he used a fork to poke at the egg yolk, the thin membrane broke easily and the yellowish liquid spilled all over the plate. "Why would you care about me? All I wanted to do is to do whatever stuff I want."
"You can do all that hell of stuff you wish to do, but don't you think this is a bit too much?" Gilbert retorted back and stood up. He then faced Ivan eye-to-eye, "I'm your friend and I do this because I care about you. Even if you shut yourself away from me or you don't accept me, I will still be by your side no matter what."
But I already got Yao by my side, Ivan thought in his mind. Part of him was glad that Gilbert was still by his side, but he was too stubborn to admit it since Yao had already occupied his mind. So he turned away and pretended not to care for him.
"Ivan, listen up." Gilbert added, "I don't care if you listen to me or not, but I will protect you at all cost. I will not let you suffer alone."
Ivan chuckled a little and placed his utensils on the plate. "That's an awesome thing you got there. I would have to thank you very much." He then faced back Gilbert with a calm expression, "I probably had feelings for you... maybe. If only you come into my life earlier..." He smiled an apologetic smile at the albino prince, "Unfortunately, I had some other people in my mind already, so I guess you came a little too late."
Gilbert could felt his heart sank when Ivan mentioned his previous sentences, but he wasn't going to show his weakness in front of him, not just yet. "I had expected that. But no matter what, I will still be by your side, to protect you from all troubles, just you wait and see. Someday I will proved myself worthy for you."
"Good luck, I guess." Ivan joked sarcastically before taking his leave. "You have to try hard if you want to win my heart." He said leaving the kitchen with Gilbert watching his back.
"H-Hey, where are you going?" Gilbert called out for him, "I thought we have swords practice session later."
"Oh, about that..." Ivan turned back to face Gilbert with a lazy look on his purple eyes. "Tell them that I don't want to do it today. I got something else to do."
"You can't do that!" Gilbert tried to reason to him. "That's improper and not awesome for a prince!"
"You too." Ivan mocked back, "If you're so determine to protect me, then you should practice instead." He gave Gilbert one last smile, which Gilbert could not comprehend before leaving the hallway. Gilbert just stood watching him left wordlessly. He vowed to himself that he will be stronger to protect the one he cared for.
At the other side of the castle, Alfred was banging on Natalia's door in hope she would open up. "Open the door, Natalia." He banged his fist hard on the door but received no response from the North Kingdom princess. "C'mon, Natalia. Let's go out and play."
"No, I'm not coming," was Natalia's muffled reply from the door. "You go play by yourself." She said as she sat hurdling herself at the corner of her bedroom. She can't help but felt as if someone was watching her. She shivered a little and covered her ears with both her hands in hope to chase away the voice that was distracting her.
"Why not? You usually come hanging out with us even though you're not joining us in a game." Alfred said, but the tense silence told him that Natalia was not in the mood to come out and do so.
Matthew came running down the hallway with his stuffed teddy bear. Arthur and Francis followed soon, seeming concern about Natalia's changes in attitude. "What's zhe matter, Alfred?" Francis asked knowingly. "Is something's wrong about Natalia?"
"She locked herself in her room since this morning." Arthur said, "I woke her up but she refused to leave her room after that. Kiku brought her breakfast, but she never open up to accept it, so he had to leave it at her doorstep."
"What's wrong with her? That's not like her at all." Francis exclaimed. Arthur just shrugged and gazed at the door which had become a barrier for them. For a moment, he did regret for not asking what was bothering Natalia, he noticed that she spaced off a lot recently. "I think it's something related to her prophetic nightmare or something. But she has never gone as far as to isolate herself like this."
"That means we won't be able to play with Natalia today?" Alfred whined. Francis smiled an apologetic smile at his sons while patting their heads. "I'm afraid so. You two can go out to the garden and play if you want. I bet Gilbert and Ludwig were also at outside, you can play with them." Though the boys were reluctant to leave without Natalia by their side, they knew that their parents were at their wits end to let Natalia out of her room and there's no way they could do to let her out, so they ran past the hallway and out of the garden so they can spend time playing outside. Once the twins were out of their side, Arthur and Francis tried again to persuade Natalia to come out of her own shell but she remained unmoving as ever. They both sighed in defeat and decided to respect to her decision and leave her alone for a while. Francis then left to join the rest who were at the garden. Arthur looked at the unbarging door before saying, in hope Natalia could hear him, "Natalia, even if you're not related by blood with me. I still love you and care for you as my own child. If there's anything you need, you can still tell us and we will always be by your side ready to help you, like a family." He then left the hallway in hope that Natalia would at least open up a little to them. Just when he thought about the last few words, like a family, he then wondered if he had done something wrong. It felt as if his family was tearing apart…
After having the dining hall cleaned up, Yao and Kiku would have to prepare lunch for the royal family residing in Main Hetalia castle today. Since King Arthur has specially arranged that everyone will be having lunch in the garden, so they have to get their meals ready and served them in the garden later.
Kiku was busy stirring the pot of stew they were to serve for lunch later. He then turned his attention at the garden outside where he saw Alfred and Matthew playing together, Ludwig was having some tutor from Elizaveta while Gilbert was practicing sword with Roderich and Vash. Liech was having tea with the rest of the adults. Ivan and Natalia were nowhere to be seen. For once, he was envious by the royalties' layback lifestyle. All he wants is just a little bit more fun time for his childhood surrounded with friends to play with. But then, Yao has reminded him again and again that he has to start learning about his work as a servant in the castle and how he was different with the other children. Kiku sighed in disappointment, knowing that there's no other way he could be together with Alfred because of their status, just like his brother and prince Ivan.
Once all the food were ready, Kiku was ordered by Yao to fetch a tray of lunch for Natalia who still kept herself locked in her room. Kiku knocked at her door but she did not opened it. Just like her breakfast time, all he could hear through the door was her muffled words, "leave it at the door…" He obeyed as what she said and placed the tray of food on her doorstep before leaving. He returned back to the kitchen to carry the second round of food tray to the royalties who were at downstairs. There were ten platters of food to be served to them and taking them were proving to be a challenge for his small size. Having no other choice, he had to carry the food tray one by one as he walked down the hallways and stairs until he reached the garden without tripping or toppling the food. Luckily, Yao was there to help and he can carry four stacks in a time, which came in handy for them.
It was until when he finally returned for the last round. There were only two plates left. One he recognized as Alfred's lunch plate not only because it is larger in portion and he also made an extra hamburger for Alfred in case Alfred got hungry.
"You take the other plate to those at the garden, aru." Yao told him as he carried the other tray in his arms. "This is for Ivan." He motioned towards the platter he was carrying. Kiku watched his older brother walked towards Ivan's room before stopping halfway and turning back to him, "You can have some free time after lunch hours." Kiku perked up at the permission his brother gave him. "Just remember to come back and do your work once Prince Alfred had gone for his afternoon nap, aru." Kiku's heart sank a bit at his brother's reminder. How he wished to take a nap with Alfred? But then, it was his job as a servant and Alfred will not like it if he did not do his job properly. After all, that little free time was something really worth it. With that in mind, he hurried out towards the garden to serve Alfred his lunch.
Alfred and the rest of the kids gathered around the dining table where the family will be having their lunch. As he saw his family began to dig into their food but his has not arrived, he got impatient and decided to go to the kitchen to get his food by himself. On that cue, Kiku appeared at the doorstep. The moment he saw Alfred running towards the door at his direction in pull speed, he cannot stop himself in time or avoided Alfred's incoming tackle. As a result, Alfred ran himself onto Kiku and the lunch platter the servant was carrying was thrown up into the air. Kiku almost tripped his footing and fell off the steps if it wasn't for Alfred. Alfred quickly caught hold of Kiku before he fell off.
"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly. His lunch tray fell from the air and headed back to the ground by gravity. Alfred caught it easily and scooped his meal that were being thrown into the air before they were crashed into pulp on the ground.
"Alfred, I know you are hungry, but you should at least be patient and wait for Kiku to serve your lunch. What if the food just now had gone to waste because of what you did, then you will never have anything to eat." Arthur came up behind Alfred and gave him a lecture, his scowl never leaving his brows. Francis came soon and patted Arthur's shoulder gently, "We can talk about that later. At least he managed to keep his food intact, we should finish up our lunch first." Arthur just huffed and led Alfred to the table and the royals continued to have their lunch.
While the royals were having their lunch, Kiku couldn't help but felt being out of place as he watched them having lunch. Seeing them eating such luxurious meal made his mouth water and his stomach growled even louder, how he wished to live such lifestyle, but then he knew that the possibility of having it is one out of a million and there's no way a servant is allowed for such luxuries. Well, at least he's counted lucky to work in the castle.
Once the royals had finished their meal, they allowed Kiku to clean up the table and sent the dishes away. The adults left their table and continued on with their discussion. The children scattered in the garden to continue their game.
Kiku sent the dishes back to the kitchen and cleaned them up. He looked his surrounding but caught no sight of his brother. Looks like he kept his promise, that's good. Now he had some free time, he can go find Alfred to play before it was his and Matthew's naptime. He made his way out to the garden again and saw the adults had gone. Gilbert must have followed them to practice swords fighting. He noticed the quiet, blond prince from the Western kingdom sitting under the tree reading some book, even Alfred and Matthew's noises cannot disturb him from his concentration.
At the other side of the garden, he could make out the two princes on top of a huge, shady tree. Alfred noticed Kiku and waved a hand at him, "Hey Kiku, come and play with us." Hearing Alfred's voice filled with eagerness made his heart jumped a bit and he couldn't even resist saying no, so he hurried to the tree and tried to climb but he couldn't take his hold on it.
Alfred giggled a little seeing Kiku's clumsiness in climbing the tree and decided to help him. "Here, hold my hand." He said stretching out his hand for Kiku. Kiku reached his hand and let Alfred lifted him off the ground onto the tree.
"How's work today?" Alfred asked Kiku with a grin on his face. "I hope you have a nice day today." He then presented the hamburger Kiku had specially made for him. "Save this for yer hard work. Betcha' hungry now."
"But…" Kiku paused, his stomach growling in hunger, "This is yours, Alfred." He shook his head in reluctance, deciding to betray his hunger. "I had already taken my lunch." He lied, but Alfred didn't buy it. "Quit lying, I know you didn't ate a thing since breakfast and it's not good to stay hungry, you cannot work later." He shoved the hamburger closer to Kiku, "Just hurry and eat up before it gets cold." Kiku looked at the food which he had spent time to make, only to get eaten by him, not the person he intended. "Won't you get hungry?" he asked. "Don't worry, I can eat later if I'm hungry, but you're hungry now." Unable to take it anymore, Kiku accepted Alfred's offer and began to munch on the food, letting the juice of the meat and crunchy veggies filled his stomach.
Time seemed to pass in a blur as he spent his time playing with the princes. Alfred showed off his climbing skills and often put Kiku at risks on falling off the tree. The trio then threw stones at the lake and splashed water at each other. By accident, Alfred splashed some water at Ludwig who got flustered when they wetted him and his book. Kiku felt sorry about it when he saw the West Kingdom prince left from the spot where he previously occupied to somewhere else more private. Alfred and Matthew ignored him and continued with their playing.
Kiku didn't remember how long they'd be playing. All he knew was he was enjoying the time of his life being with someone on his age. He remembered how Alfred smiled so vibrantly and naturally as a child and Matthew giggling about when they chased themselves among the garden. By the time they were tired, the trios flopped down onto the grass to rest while having their eyes fixed at the blue sky of endless boundaries.
"It would have been better if Natalia was here with us," Matthew said, "We could have so much fun."
"Who knows? She don't wanna come out of her room." Alfred yawned. As he locked his eyes at the sky as if his eyes colour were reflected from it, he began to dream about his future and his dreams. "You know what? Every time I see the sky makes me feel so calm, as if I can see what lies ahead of me."
Matthew turned around to face his sibling. "Oh? Then what did you see?" He asked in interest, "Did you see your future?"
Alfred continued on his daydream as he gazed into the sky, letting his mind takes him to elsewhere. "I dreamed of myself running freely in the outside world. I fly across the sea, run up mountains and be a great hero. Then one day I save someone from a devil and we fall in love, so we get married and live happily one another."
Matthew giggled a bit at Alfred's childish thought. "That was not bad either. When I grow up, I want to travel around the world to see lots and lots of things."
"Yeah, once we grow up, maybe papa and daddy will let us go on a journey. And we can see many beautiful things around the Earth. And maybe we can even find someone we love." Alfred continued to chirp happily dreaming about the future. He then noticed Kiku being strayed out from the conversation, so he decided to open up the conversation with him. "Hey Kiku, do you have any amazing dreams about the future?"
Kiku sat up a bit when Alfred called out for him. He looked at Alfred with a slight tinge of blush colouring his face before looking back at the sky. "I… I wish to find where I belong…" And my prince charming, he added secretly, too embarrassed to say it out loud.
"That's great!" Alfred exclaimed, "Perhaps you can join us together in our journey." The three of them laughed in unison. For once, Kiku thought that Alfred's smile looks cute and he seemed so happy. With that, he swore to himself that he will make Alfred smile.
"Boys, it's time for your naptime." King Francis and King Arthur called out for them. They went up to the kids and scooped the two princes into their arms. "I bet you all had a good time together, non?" Francis asked as he bounced Matthew on his arms.
"Yeah, and we even talked about our future." Matthew giggled as he hugged his stuffed teddy bear close to him. "Mattie and I are planning to go on a journey when we grow up." Alfred boasted his dreams aloud, "We're gonna have lots of fun outside."
Arthur smiled a bit as he carried Alfred. "That's nice, Alfred. But then, it's time you get some rest or you'll never have your adventure." Alfred pouted, but did not say anything as he was too tired from all the play just now. "Fine…" He said reluctantly and waved back at Kiku with a smile, "See ya later, Kiku."
Francis watched Arthur whisked Alfred away while he carried an already half-asleep Matthew in his arms. He smiled an apologetic yet grateful smile at Kiku. "Thanks for playing with them. That's not much of a trouble for you, oui?" Kiku just shook his head before saying, "I was given some free time to play with them."
"Zhat would mean you have work later. I know you're trying to fulfil your job but it's good to take a rest sometimes if you get tired, just don't overwork yourself, okay?" Kiku nodded back at the king. Francis just smiled and carried Matthew into the castle so he could put the prince to nap on bed. Kiku watched as their shadows faded into the depth of the castle before he headed in as well, to continue with his work. Yet, he never knew this will be the last time he saw Alfred's childish smile and Matthew's identical face.
Yao was surprised to find Ivan's room being empty. He left the tray of food on his table while going out to find the prince. What surprised him even more was he found Ivan hiding amongst the bookshelves in the library reading some sort of books. Yao couldn't help but smiled, it was rare to see Ivan being this studious. Usually, the elder prince was seen to skip his classes and training lessons.
"Ivan, it's a surprise to see you in here, aru." Yao said, his voice with a hint of delight. "I thought you should be having swords practicing session with Gilbert, aru."
Ivan threw him a childish smile and took another book from the shelves. "I'm not in the mood for that now."
"You can't just go on and skip your lessons like that. Your skills will become rusty." Yao tried to reason with him. "Moreover, I thought you enjoy having Gilbert as a company so why are you not going to joy him?"
"He's being an annoying mother hen recently." Ivan shrugged it off, "All I want is some peace and quiet."
"Maybe you should go find Natalia, aru." Yao made a suggestion. "She has locked herself up in her room since this morning. Nobody knows what's in her mind."
Upon hearing Yao mentioning Natalia, Ivan's eyes widened and he stared at the servant in fear. "I will never go and find her myself." He swore to himself. "She was the scariest sister I have ever had."
"And you're a bad big brother to leave her alone." Yao added and chuckled.
"Kolkolkol…" Ivan made his signature creepy smile that sent shivers down Yao's spine. "You're a naughty one, Yao…"
"Aiyah… Ivan, forget about it…" Yao said trying to change the topic, "Let's go back to your room… I have made lunch for you…" He then tried to force the bigger boy to stand up and made his way out of the library.
A creepy smile crept up Ivan's lips and he said in a creepy tone, "No… I want to eat you, Yao." Aiyah, not this thing! Yao thought silently to himself. "Ivan, I had work to do, aru." Yao made an excuse in hope that Ivan will buy it. "You can still do that after we finish our lunch." Ivan said, licking his lips.
Yao sighed and surrendered himself to the prince. Ivan took some books with him and they walked back to his room. While walking by the prince's side, Yao sneaked a peak at the stack of books the prince was holding. He could catch some of the titles, most of those were story books as he could tell.
Ivan led Yao back to his room. Once they entered the room, he locked his door and placed the stacks of books on the table. He spared a glance at the tray of food placed on the table. He could hear his stomach growled and his mouth watered at such delicious-looking food but he pretended not to see it and turned back to face Yao.
"W-What do you want, aru?" Yao asked nervously backing off onto a corner.
"I already said it. I want to have lunch with you." Ivan insisted, edging closer to Yao until the servant boy shrunk onto a corner. He then used his hands to grab hold of Yao's shoulders to make sure he won't run away. He then pressed their lips together before he continued to trail down Yao's neck, licking at the scar where he had left on the servant's sensitive spot the other day.
"Ivan… I'm just here to send your lunch, not to do this…" Yao moaned a bit.
"If that's so, then why you have to go through all the trouble to find me in the library?" Ivan retorted back.
"You're as cunning as always, aru…" Yao could only make a hopeless sigh as he let Ivan's hands explored his body. "Why would I ever care and love you in the beginning?"
"Because it's true love," Ivan smirked. "Too bad that we have to keep ourselves low so as not to be noticed. If it wasn't because of your little brother's sake, we could have run away already and live our very own life."
"Don't say that…" Yao suppressed a moan as Ivan made his hands up his legs. "Kiku is still so young and there's still a lot of things to learn before he can finally managed on his own, aru."
"Fine, I will wait for the time when you'll be mine and only mine." Ivan then turned Yao around. He then licked Yao's ear shell and kissed on his collarbone again while his hands began on his work.
Yao had to lean on the wall for support as Ivan undone his clothing, forcing him bare from his waist and below. He could feel Ivan's strong hands gripping on his balls, fingers curling around it and teasing it. "Suck it." Ivan then brought up one of his hands to let Yao licked his fingers that were coated with precum. Yao did it obediently, feeling Ivan's skin with his own tongue. When Ivan thinks it was wet enough, he then pushed a digit into Yao's entrance, causing Yao to gasp in both pain and surprise. Slowly, another digit was added in it, scissoring the tight ring of muscle as Ivan tried to adjust his lover. Seriously, Yao was always so tight no matter how much time they had done.
"Ivan…" Yao moaned in pleasure as a third digit entered and hit a bundle of nerve fibres in him, sending shock waves of both pain and pleasure. On cue, Ivan removed his fingers from Yao's body. "Ivan… I need you…" Yao pleaded, his golden eyes full of lust.
"Then let me give you something bigger," Ivan smirked, his pants were pulled off and revealed his large member standing erectly full of precum. He then thrust himself deeper into Yao's entrance, filling him and hitting the sensitive spot where gave Yao the heaven of pleasure. Yao grasped the wall harder, his knuckles turning white while he moaned and gasped in satisfaction.
Soon enough, the two of them laid on bed, exhausted but content. "As naughty as always…" Yao managed between gasp of breath as he snuggled with Ivan. "And you're as erotic as always." Ivan smirked and enveloped him in a hug. He then kissed Yao full on the lips, making use of Yao's gasp to enter into his cavern, tongue exploring in his lover. Yao would try to gain dominance by fighting his tongue against Ivan's. His tongue slipped past the other and entered Ivan's mouth, finding the scar he once left on it. "Mark it…" Ivan voiced between his breaths while trying not to bite Yao's tongue. "Prove something that I belongs to you…" Yao obeyed his words, sinking his teeth deeper into Ivan's gum, letting it bleed and making the scare deeper than before.
They pulled off when their lungs were in urgent need for air. Ivan rolled beside Yao and hugged him protectively at the waist, kissing his cheek. Yao just smiled a tired smile. Ivan gazed his sight far away as if thinking something before he spoke up, "Once upon a time, there was a prince in a certain kingdom. Since young, he was taken care by a young beautiful servant about the same age as he." Yao listened intently as Ivan created his own story. "When the servant grew up, she has become a beautiful young lady, so beautiful that not even the ladies of the nobility can rival her. Eventually, he prince fell in love with her."
"That's a cheeky story, aru." Yao giggled a bit. "When have you followed Francis? And you're changing me as a girl as well?" In response, Ivan nuzzled with him before replying, "Just an imagination, what we wish of in the future…"
"However, a prince is not allowed to marry a servant as mentioned by the law of the kingdom. This is because the servant's position and status will bring shame to the prince. The prince was sad that his parents did not approve of their relationship."
At this point, Yao helped him continued the storyline, "But because the servant was so loyal to the prince and she devoted herself entirely for the prince. And the prince being so much in love with the servant that he was not willing to let her go, knowing that he can only love her. So, one night when everyone is fast asleep on a full moon night, the prince and the servant sneaked out of the castle. They escaped the guards' eyes and made their way out of the castle boundary. They fled all the way into the village, the woods and were never caught. The prince and his beloved servant girl finally get married, have children and they live happily ever after."
"Oh Yao, when can I have my happily ever after?" Ivan asked once Yao finished his story. Yao hugged Ivan, "When the time comes, you'll find your answers, aru. Even if that person is not me, you will still have your happy ending, I promise." He smiled a weak smile at Ivan. Ivan noticed the distress on Yao's brow but decided not to ask about it. He was determined to have Yao by his side, insisting that Yao will be his destined one.
"Aiyah, what was the time now?" Yao suddenly jumped out of bed and looked at the clock, noticing it was almost three o' clock, he has to go back to work. "I have to go back to my work, aru." He said quickly dressed himself.
"Yao, don't go." Ivan whined as he grab hold of Yao's arm but Yao released it from his grasp. "Ivan, I'm sorry but I have work to do, aru." Ivan's brow twisted in disappointment. Yao sighed, his heart softened a bit, "But I will come back for you later tonight." He added, in hope not to make Ivan felt sad.
Ivan just frowned and pouted as he saw Yao quickly dressed himself up and hasty left his room. Now he was alone again, with nothing to do except for reading a pile of books. He stood up and dressed himself up, before hearing his stomach complained. He's hungry, the activity just now had worn him down, so looks like that will not quell his hunger at all. He spared one glance at his tray of food Yao has left him earlier. It has gotten cold from the long-time of exposure but he couldn't care less and began digging into his lunch.
Ivan finished his lunch quicker than he had expected. Since he wasn't in the mood to sleep right now, he thought it would be a good idea to have a walk at the garden to have some fresh air (he hasn't done that for quite a while), so he went to change out his clothes for something more suitable. He was about to exit his room but then ended up banging onto someone just as he stepped out from his room.
"Ugh…" The person he banged onto recoiled back onto the floor and held his head. Ivan quickly went to pick up the boy, "I'm sorry, are you alright?"
"Oh, it's you, Brother Ivan." Alfred pushed himself off the ground and smiled a childish smile at him.
"I thought you're supposed to have your naptime." Ivan questioned, "Do you sneak out again?"
"But I'm not tired," Alfred whined, though he yawned after that. "It's just… I don't wanna sleep…" He said quietly.
Ivan frowned a bit before began talking like an adult. "That's not good for you. Little children like you need a lot of sleep so that you can grow up to be strong." He tried to advise the seven-year-old child, but Alfred laughed at Ivan's attempt to be mature. "You don't even look like a grown-up, so how can you behave like one?" Alfred mocked at him, "Who do you think you are, my father?"
Purple aura began to glow around Ivan, "That's not a good thing to talk like that." He said, which caused Alfred to quiver in fear. "Didn't your fathers teach you to respect your elder?" He questioned, Alfred whimpered a little and shrunk onto a corner. Ivan was about to continue torturing the child with a mountain of questions but when he caught sight of the tears and fears blinking in Alfred's innocent sky blue eyes, he started to feel guilty. You are talking to a child, he reminded himself and he must be patient when it comes to handling a child and he had stepped out of its boundary.
With a gulp, the creepy aura surrounding Ivan vanished and he tried to smile a gentle smile at the younger boy. "I'm sorry, Alfred. It's just a joke, don't take it too serious." He tried to convince the younger boy. Upon hearing his gentle tone, Alfred softened a little and stopped sobbing. "Come Alfred, do you want me to read you some stories?"
"Really?" Alfred perked up hearing his older brother's question, the fear that was once in his eyes disappeared and was being replaced by childish excitement. "Of course," Ivan smiled back at him and led Alfred into his room. He let the boy sat on his lap, one arm warping securely around the little boy while the other rummaged through the piles of books in search for some story Alfred would probably like.
After his break time was over, Kiku's next task is to clean up Natalia's room, which would be much of a trouble since everyone has a hard time persuading Natalia out of her room. He wondered if he will succeeded in getting Natalia out of her shell. His brother was nowhere to be seen, probably he was doing his chores somewhere in the castle.
A small sigh escaped from the lips of the little servant as he thought about what lied before him in his future, there's no way he could have such a dream with a happily ever after ending like what Arthur had said. It knew it was for the sake of the children, but growing up always made reality sank in deeper into your mind. He was born into this after all, days of endless cleaning, scrubbing, cooking food for those of the upper class as if he was the one to support everything at its base with nobody would appreciate it. It's not like he's wishing for anything, but he just want a little indulgent that can at least give him some happiness that everyone deserved to have it. But why his yearning was always being left unheard and go unnoticed by the rest. He's just a servant after all, and servants are taught to obey those of higher ranking than them but with no right to judge whether their action is right or not. The only time where they were being noticed is when their master needed them to do something.
He soon found himself reaching the doorsteps of Natalia's room. Kiku tried to turn the door knob but it won't bulge, so he resorted to knock the door. "My lady," he said, trying to be soft and patient, "Open up, I'm here to clean your room."
There was a moment of silence, until the door was opened, slightly ajar. Behind the doors, Kiku could make out Natalia's blue, almost purple eyes appeared at the gap. Kiku tried to smile at her to reassure that it was nothing. "I… I'm here to… t-to clean your room…"
"You may come in…" Natalia said, her voice as cold as ice, but she opened her door anyway. She was well-dressed as usual, but Kiku could notice something anxious in her eyes which he decided not to press about it. With cautious steps, he stepped into her room and placed the bucket and cleaning stuff on the floor. She paid him no attention and went to sit on her bed gazing out of the window.
"Don't you think you should go out to have some fresh air, my lady?" Kiku tried to open up with her while being polite and cautious. Natalia looked at him and shook her head before using her hand to sweep away her long silvery blonde bangs. "Not in the mood to do so."
Kiku stopped his work halfway before looking at her with concern, noting her hoarse voice. "Do you need anything that I can help you?"
Natalia tried to silence him with a glare but the servant boy seemed to remain as calm as ever, as if his expression can never change. "I'm fine… And I don't need you to hel…" She paused halfway as she felt something gagged up in her dry and sore throat, she tried to ignore it but the dryness caused her to choke and cough. Kiku saw this immediately went to help her, "A-Are you alright?" He gently ran his hand over her back in hope to soothe her. "Why don't I go and get some water for you, is that ok?" Natalia just nodded in the midst of her coughing fit. Kiku left the room quickly to the kitchen to fetch her a glass of water, trusting her to wait for his return.
Not too long after Kiku has left, Natalia managed to control herself and stopped coughing. For once, she did regret locking herself in her room, which caused her to have a sore throat. She leant a bit on her bed post while trying to even her breathing. She could feel something jostling inside her, causing her to shiver. She opened her eyes and scanned around the room but see nothing. What she felt, however, was way different to what she sees. She closed her eyes again and focused, blood in her veins rushing like river and her heartbeat increased in pace. She knew something was wrong, and it was coming… to them!
The moment when she reopened her eyes, she felt the castle walls are shaking… No, the entire castle was shaking. All of a sudden, she heard a loud banging sound from the other side of the castle, followed by a crash and a screech. She quickly looked out from the window and noticed bits of smoke and fire razed up into the sky from a corner. She cannot make it out where it was but from the loud scream echoed from far away, she knew it was not something good.
"Get in there!" She heard someone shouting with a gruff voice. From the opened doors, she saw shadows of several men, big in size with weapons in their arms coming towards her way! Natalia managed to gasp before she jumped from her bed and scurried off behind the door.
"Lady Natalia, here's your wat…" Kiku suddenly appeared at her door with a glass of water. She quickly grabbed him and pulled him close to her while clamping his mouth shut. Kiku was shocked by the sudden reaction that he let go of the glass of water. He wanted to release himself but from how Natalia was reacting, it was better to keep himself quiet.
"I saw someone ran into this room just now!" One of the men said and the two kids could hear footsteps approaching the door. Both of them hold their breath, too afraid to make out a voice.
All of a sudden, something was being thrown into the middle of the room and landed with a 'thud' on the floor. Natalia only managed to catch a glimpse of that object before it was let off, filling the room with white fumes. Natalia choked a little when the smell invaded her nose, knowing this was not some ordinary white smoke but poisonous gas! She clamped Kiku's nose and mouth tight while holding her breath. She quickly led Kiku into her cupboard as the smoke billowed the space, making their hiding easier. Once they were inside the wardrobe, she quickly shut the doors to prevent any smoke from entering.
"There's nothing here, let's get goin'." Once the mist was cleared, they heard the footsteps fading away into a distance. Natalia let out a breath of relief, glad that they managed to get away with it. Kiku exhaled and relaxed a bit, letting the tears streaked down his cheeks, not that he cared.
Even though they were in the closet, Natalia could still make out the bombing and clanging of metals from the other side of the castle. The images of her nightmares came into her memories, remembering both she and Kiku being attacked when hiding in the closet. They may have escaped, but there were still more coming for them and it was not safe to hide in here forever.
"Kiku, quick!" She said, grabbing hold of Kiku's hand. "We have to get out of here as fast as possible." Before Kiku could even regained his breath, Natalia had pulled him out of the closet and headed out of the room to whichever place she thinks is safe.
Gilbert resumed back to practicing his sword alone after lunch hour. The adult have gone somewhere in the garden for their little gathering while the younger children were playing elsewhere. For a moment, he stopped his practice halfway to catch a little break. He then noticed his younger brother sitting under the tree not too far away from where he was practicing, seemingly interested in his combat training. When had he come here? He didn't remember West being here before.
"Hey west, I thought you should be having fun with the rest of the kids." Gilbert walked up to his brother side to talk with him. The younger blonde looked up at his older brother with piercing blue eyes. Ludwig was quite a different child since his young age. Being a child, he was unusually quiet that his father had never heard him spoke anything at all. At first Gilbert assumed it was because of West feeling uncertain and insecure. But as time goes on, it wasn't as simple as he thought. "I take it that you don't like being around those kids, is that right?" Ludwig darted an eye at his older brother before nodding.
Gilbert understood what the child wants. He was quite surprised when he found out that his brother gained interest on a certain young lady from a certain kingdom. Not like he can help much, but then he promised his father to watch him grow up into a man. Gilbert just patted Ludwig's shoulders gently, as if trying to reassure him. Well, at least he behaved better than I am, he thought to himself. "It's alright if you choose not to tell me but I will always support you no matter what. If you feel the need to seek help, I am always ready to help you."
Gilbert then went back to the spacious grassland of Main Hetalia castle garden to resume his training. He was about to continue his practice when he could feel the castle ground was shaking. Crimson eyes darted around the corner uneasily, knowing that something wrong was happening. He turned around when he heard the rustling of leaves not too far from him, just in time to notice a soldier running towards him with a sword. From what he was wearing, Gilbert knew he was not a Main Hetalia soldier, nor a soldier from any of the kingdom and that could only meant one thing, trouble!
The man raised his sword to attack Gilbert but Gilbert quickly defended himself with his own sword. That man was stronger and more skilful compared to him but Gilbert refused to let in and showed his weakness, so he tried to hold himself from being pushed back while finding an opportunity to attack. Suddenly, there was a scream and he quickly whipped back in head to see another man had come and grabbed Ludwig. "West!" He called out and spilt his attention. The man who attacked him used this as a chance to attack. Gilbert managed to regain his posture and wounded his hand in order to block the attack. Eyes filled with anger, he slashed his sword at the man who attacked him. The man was taken by surprise as blood splattered his face and body, before his body gone limp and rolled onto the floor motionless. Gilbert could care less about the dead man as Ludwig is his first priority. "Let go of him!" He yelled at the man and lunged his sword deep down into the soldier's throat. Blood spilled all over the place and Ludwig watched in horror as brother had killed a man.
"West, are you alright?" Gilbert asked Ludwig, but Ludwig inched away from his brother, too horrified to see blood on his brother's face. Gilbert noticed his brother's expression and as he let reality sank in, he had just killed a person… No, two people, two people who threatened to kill them both. Something must have happened, his mind soon thought about Ivan, whom he vowed to protect with his entire being.
Slowly, he closed his distance with Ludwig. Ludwig didn't show any protest when his brother grabbed him gently by the shoulder. "Listen west, I-I can explain that later… But now, we're in trouble." The moment he said, he noticed part of the castle wall collapsed and Ludwig flinched as the stone wall came roaring down. "We have to run to safety!" He grabbed Ludwig's hand and they began sprinting among the bushes in order to hide themselves from being spotted by the invading soldiers. He led Ludwig until another corner of the garden where there's a shed and quite oblivious to be noticed. Not safe enough, but Gilbert was confident enough that the enemy will never discover this corner that is so well hidden among the garden bushes. "Stay here, don't come out unless it's someone you know." He informed Ludwig. Ludwig was scared to be left alone but knowing that his brother could be trusted, he could only pray that no one will notice him. "I will be back in a moment, just hide and don't get noticed!" Gilbert informed him as he ran towards the castle direction, determined to save Ivan from the troubles.
Ivan almost fell asleep in the midst of reading a story to Alfred when the invasion began. He was soon jolted awake by the sound of rumbling stones. "W-What's happening?" Alfred asked in panic, hugging Ivan tighter. Ivan looked out from the window to see part of the castle being caught on fire. He got panic and jumped off from his chair with Alfred on his arms. "This is bad! We have to run!" Ivan said as he hold Alfred's hand in his and began running out of the room down the hallway.
As they ran down the hallway, some soldiers noticed them and blocked their path. Alfred shrieked and hid behind Ivan as they were surrounded by strangers. Ivan backed off a bit, hearing some of them murmured, "The child from North Kingdom…" and another one, "… that brat of the traitorous crown prince… brings nothing but hell to the kingdom…" One of the men raised his sword at them, intending to kill them. Alfred screamed and turned away, not daring to see the scene unfold before him.
"Leave them alone!" But then, the cold metallic weapons did not come. All he heard was the voice of someone familiar. He peeked an eye open to see a boy almost the same age as Ivan with snow white hair and crimson eyes cutting down some of the men. "Quick! We have to get outta here!" Gilbert called out at them and led the way, Ivan and Alfred followed soon.
They ran down several flights of staircase, avoiding falling rocks on their way as the soldiers chased after them. Just when they were about to reach the exit, another group of soldiers arrived and blocked their path. "Quick, hide somewhere!" Ivan said and pulled the other two into a room. He led them to one corner of the room and pulled out a tile, revealing a secret underground passage way. "Let's go, this will take us to the garden." The trio entered the hole and closed it to prevent the soldiers from finding their exit and made their way in the darkness until they managed to find their way out from the tree hole.
That was when Alfred realized something. "Mattie! Mattie must be still inside there!" He jumped frantically. "We need to go and get Mattie or they will kill him!" He wanted to run back to the castle but Gilbert and Ivan hold him still.
"You can't go back, little one!" Gilbert said, holding Alfred. "But… But Mattie is still inside!" Alfred yelled as he tried to resist himself from their hold. "We are born together and he's my brother! I can't let him die or I'll have to die with him!"
"Alfred, stop it!" Ivan managed to calm Alfred's emotional outburst by holding both his hands at Alfred's cheek, making him eye-to-eye with Ivan. "I know you are worried about Matthew but it's dangerous to go back there. But believe me, Alfred, I'm sure Matthew will return safely, like how all fairy tales would end in a Happily Ever After." He reassured Alfred, which managed to calm the little boy for a bit.
"Really? Will Matthew really be alright and come back alive?" Alfred stopped crying and a little hope filled his voice and he looked up at Ivan, with glistened but innocent sky blue eyes. Ivan rubbed away the tears on Alfred's cheeks and embraced him into a hug. He couldn't help but softened a little at those innocent eyes that he would say sweet things in hope to soothe the boy. "I promised… Matthew will come out of this alive…" He hugged the boy close to his chest in order to comfort him.
Though the older crown prince remained calm in his expression, but he was worried inside. He wondered where Yao was now. Like Alfred, there's no way could go back into the castle to save Yao. He wondered where Yao would be by now, probably running in the castle hallways trying to escape from the soldiers. He could only prayed that Yao make it out safely, like that day when the North Kingdom was being invaded. Yao will be alright, right? He hold himself tight to that little faint wish of his.
Natalia and Kiku ran down several hallways, avoiding the soldiers who were slaughtering people in cold blood. Behind them, they could hear the steps of the mad soldiers coming towards them. Natalia turned her head back to see how far were the soldiers, only to trip on a step, causing Kiku and her to tumble down the steps. The kids picked up themselves and were about to continue running but someone had blocked their way.
The man was quite old for his age, wrinkles marked his skin and white hair and moustache covered part of his face. His cold eyes scanned over them menacingly, causing them to shriek and shrunk to a corner. His lips quivered a little and he mumbled several incoherent syllable like 'betrayer of the kingdom' and 'filthy bastard child'. His eyes darted back to them before commanding in a hoarse, cold and demeaning tone, "Kill them all! Kill all these bloody idiots and burn the castle into ashes. NO ONE, no one is allowed to leave the castle, ALIVE!" Those words were said as if directing towards Natalia and Kiku. "KILL THEM ALL!" The sounds of the footsteps approached closer and they knew that the soldiers were coming for them. Natalia quickly pulled Kiku into a sprint, continuing their route down to the hallway. They were about to make it to the exit but several bodies of the dead servants laid across the hallway, making crossing impossible. They quickly made a turn and headed into the kitchen, where Yao was removing some bags of flour from a cabinet.
"Kiku, Natalia, why are you two here, aru?" Yao asked, his expression calm but his eyes said otherwise. "You two should get out of the castle or they will kill you."
"But nii-san, the exit is blocked, there's no other way to escape." Kiku panted.
"Hurry up, they're over there!" Over the distance, they could hear the soldiers giving command. They were coming, and there was not much time left.
Quickly, Yao shoved the two children into the cabinet and began to load the bags of flour into the shelves as an attempt to cover them up. "Just stay as quiet as possible, then they won't find you in here, aru."
Kiku spared one worry glance at his brother in worry, "Nii-san, what about you? You need to hide too." Yao gave him a weak smile and gently nudged his head, "If you didn't die, then I won't too. Just… Just promise me to be a good boy… And do your work properly." Kiku didn't have time to say anything before Yao closed the cabinet door, he could not make out his brother's expression between the narrow gaps of the door.
Yao was trying to find somewhere else to hide himself just as the soldiers slammed into the kitchen. "It's him, get him!" There was a little chase in the room until the soldiers got Yao cornered. Yao covered their eyes and took in one last breath, the soldiers then raised their swords and began to slain him.
Kiku and Natalia gasped as they saw what happened to Yao through the gap of the door. Natalia quickly reached her hand to clamp Kiku's mouth to restrain him from screaming while she tried to cover the sounds of her breathing. They could hear one of the soldier coming closer to the cupboard and their heartbeat sped up. The cabinet door was thrown open abruptly. They would have screamed if they haven't get their mouth clamped. Luckily, the bags of flour covered them up perfectly.
"Just a poor, pretty little servant, there's nothing here." One of the soldiers said, "Let's go!" they left the kitchen but Kiku and Natalia were too afraid to make a move.
Meanwhile, when the first bombing resounded in the castle. It shook the adults who were having a little gathering at the garden. "What the bloody hell is that?" Arthur asked, his brows furrowing.
"The castle's on fire!" Liech screamed and pointed her finger at the part where smoke was billowing from. "N-No way, this can't be…" Francis words was cut short when he heard some commanding tone at the other side of the castle.
"The castle is being attacked!" Elizaveta exclaimed, "We have to stop them!" Roderich quickly hold her down as an attempt to calm her, "Stop it, we cannot act too recklessly."
Arthur then devised of a plan and told them, "Let's split the job. Francis and I will enter the castle to save the survivors and the kids who were inside. Elizaveta, Roderich and Vash will guard the surrounding and round up the kids while cutting down the enemies. Liech will stay here and help find the children, is that alright?" The four of them nodded their head and split off to their assigned job.
"Mon cher, are you sure you can handle this?" Francis asked as he and Arthur raced their way back into the castle. Arthur gave him a determined smile, "You have never seen me fight before but trust me, I'm actually better than you had thought."
They ran to one side of the garden where it was usually hidden by lush trees and bushes. They opened a secret doorway and made their way into the castle, where they came across several dead soldiers and servants on the floor. Each of them picked up a weapon from the fallen soldier and continued their way towards the kids' room. They checked through the rooms, all have been vacant but one, the twin's room. The door was slight ajar but the knob was broken, and blood can be seen splattered at the door and the wall. Arthur shivered a bit and felt his blood turned cold, "T-This… I-It can't be…"
Francis pushed the door opened and scanned the room. He then noticed the bed was covered in blood. Slowly, the two kings approached the bed and removed the blanket. Arthur almost screamed in despair as the scene before him unfold. Matthew, lying motionless on bed, his body was covered in blood and deep gash was on his neck. Francis felt his heartbeat stopped, why were people so cruel and malicious to take away people's life, even if that was just a poor, defenceless and innocent child? Tears filled Arthur's green eyes and his hands clenched into a fist as anger rose up to him. "I'm going to bloody kill the person who do this to Matthew!" He said as he made his way out. Francis tightened his sword and followed son, "Count me in, Cherie"
With newly found strength, the two kings began killing the soldiers invading their castle, slaughtering them without mercy. However, when they finally reached near the exit, the person standing before them almost shocked them. That man, Arthur seemed to recognize. Even though his appearance had changed, Arthur can still make out the dark green eyes of the man that was once filled with anger and hatred when looking at him. But now, those eyes were filled with bloodlust, coldness and insanity. The man that had once robbed his happiness so many time that causes a chain of unhappy history which robbed many people's life and parents from their children.
"F-Father…" Arthur managed to stutter out, Francis watched in disbelief. Arthur was convinced that his father was dead, but it was wrong after all, and Francis knew it. The king had escaped and survived through the incident.
The old mad King glared at them with eyes full of hatred. "That bastard… Not worthy to be my son…" He then took his sword and attacked them. Arthur and Francis fought him. In the process, he wounded Francis' arm but Francis managed to inflict damage on his leg and he stumbled onto the floor. Arthur soon found himself pointing his sword at his father, debating on whether he should kill his own father. "Arthur, kill him!" Francis called out, "This man has caused enough suffering. We don't want him to hurt anymore innocent people." Still, Arthur hesitated, his kindness tugging him. Part of him wanted to kill the man who almost destroyed his life but part of him reminded himself that this man was his father who raised him to be king.
A crooked smile appeared on the old man's face as he saw Arthur's weakness. "Idiot son, do you even dare to kill your own father?" He stood up with a throbbing ankle. "Better think properly or else you'll regret…" Francis wanted to strike at him but his injury had given him some difficulties. His legs gave up before he could even lay a hit on the man, but the old king had already jumped out from the window. Arthur knelt down on the floor as he broke down, particularly blaming himself for causing all this to happen.
At outside, Vash and Liech recovered the kids who was hidden at the garden shed. Roderich and Elizaveta slaughtered the invaders that were trying to escape from the castle, not leaving anyone left. Just then, Vash noticed a figure jumping out from the window. The three of them tried to give chase and kill the man but the man disappeared among the bushes, running out of the castle thought a hole. They won't give chase since they still had to recover the rest of the castle occupants.
Arthur and Francis came out from the castle not too long later, each carrying Kiku and Natalia with them. After the old king escaped, Arthur and Francis found Yao dead in the kitchen. They also found Natalia and Kiku huddling in the cupboard and now they were still in traumatic condition after witnessing Yao being murdered.
"Did you caught him?" Francis asked Roderich, the rest looked at him in confused. He then said in a low voice, "The person who led the rogue to attack the castle is Arthur's father…" The adults practically gasped at the news informed but then the old king wasn't among the dead bodies, so he must have escape and may return some other time.
After they had recovered and things had settled down, everyone was gathered in the garden as the children are informed about Yao and Matthew's death. Once the announcement was made, Alfred broken down into tears and cried, "Why?! Why Mattie had to die?" Ivan's hope shattered as he let the news sank in, knowing that his lover was dead. Gilbert tried to comfort Alfred while Ludwig watched helplessly as he tried to comprehend what had happened. Kiku and Natalia remained calm as usual but if you see closer you could notice tears glistening in Kiku's dark brown eyes while Natalia bit her lips to stop herself from crying.
"Dad, c-can I-I… I wanna see Mattie one l-last time…" After Alfred's little outbreak, Alfred asked permission to see Matthew but Arthur was not pleased with that idea. "Matthew is asleep Alfred… Just… he will not wake up anymore…" Francis spoke softly in hope to soothe Alfred and make him feel better. "He's happy, you know… He did not feel any pain at all…" He then reached a hand to gently pat Alfred's head, "Just don't go see him… If you see him, he can never sleep… And he will not be happy…" Albeit reluctant, Alfred obeyed his papa's words and decided not to ask further.
"Arthur, I want to see Yao, can I?" Meanwhile, Arthur had a hard time persuading Ivan. The child was stubborn and was not willing to take Arthur's words. Arthur understood how hurt the child felt but he couldn't find other words to comfort or persuade the boy to change his mind. In the end, he decided to secretly let Ivan in to see his lover for one last time.
Ivan walked to the table where Yao's cold, unmoving body was laid. His face was barely recognizable and scars and blood marked all over his body. Ivan couldn't help but winced at the pain Yao had suffered, he had failed to protect the person whom he loved. He gently ran his fingers over the beautiful servant boy's body, trailing his fine body until he reached his fair skin on his face. He looked like a porcelain doll, if it wasn't for the blood. An image flashed before him and he remembered Yao's slender fingers rested in the book Snow White as he said, "Especially this one. Remember how her life was saved, and why she was called Snow White…" A true love kiss was the answer, Ivan knew it. He loved Yao, so does Yao, so he can probably revived Yao from his eternal slumber if he planted this true love kiss on him. He took a deep breath and closed his distance with Yao. As gently as ever, he pressed his lips on Yao's soft cold lips. When he pulled away, he expected to see Yao opened his eyes smiling at him but to his disappointment, Yao remained as still as ever. There was no way he will wake up. Unable to hold his tears any longer, Ivan broke down sobbing while hugging the person whom he treasured and grown to love so much, only to be taken away once again…
xXx
Ooh, ;A; This was so sad that I cry several times when writing this, causing me to have some writer's block. Sorry for posting this thing late, I have a hard time on arranging the story sequences. The length of this chapter also exceeded what I have expected. This is another new record.
I feel so bad for the little ones there, especially Alfred and Ivan. Rochu is actually one of my top favourite pairing but since it's what the original author wanted it to happen, so I have no choice but to do so. But don't worry, Ivan, there's someone else for you, can you guess who? Feel free to give me your answers.
Anyway, I am so sad that I don't get any reviews ever since I started up my new chapter, you're all breaking my heart that I almost lost my will to continue writing. If you don't wish I discontinue this like the original author, please show some kindness and give me a little piece of advice or comment, little Alfie here is hurt and wants some comfort, so does Ivan…
I will have the next chapter update as soon as possible, university has resume and I missed my first class which makes the teacher gone mad. *_* And more things are coming to pressure me again, so please be patient. But you can make me update faster if you leave some review, then I will post it up faster. So, pretty please?
Chapter title is based on Sleepsong by Secret Garden. I don't own anything. Hetalia is owned by Himaruya while the story originally belongs to Kari Kurofai.